In the summer of 2004, Lance Armstrong was God. The Tour de France raged from July 2 to July 25 that year, and I watched every minute. I had just graduated from Air Force ROTC and Georgetown University, and I had about 8 weeks before I had to report at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, TX. Being generally an active person, and living at home with my parents, I ran and I biked. And, if you followed cycling at all in 2004, Lance Armstrong was its name. A cancer survivor who comes back to win, at that time, 5 of the most grueling races ever invented? Lance was superman, he was the prototype of Americana, the epitome of what the human body and hard work could do.

Years of glory and godliness. A sampling of covers from 2001-2004.

There was no getting around the glory. And I, on the verge of serving…